by Return to Me: Lenten Reflections by Holy Cross 2019
Is our God a vengeful God or a kind God? How do I praise him? And am I doing
enough to move towards the prize of his call that lifts me upward?
These were questions that I had growing up in a devoutly religious household. So, the
words of Isaiah and Paul bring me a great deal of comfort. I’m reminded, as Isaiah
invokes the memory of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, of a God who both
saved his people and destroyed the Egyptians with the parting of waters. The image
is powerful and invokes awe and a little fear. As a child, hearing this story, I distinctly
remember hoping never to be the recipient of this type of wrath. But as Isaiah reminds
us, God also nourishes and cares for His people. He makes a way in the desert and
in the wastelands makes rivers. He makes things new. In this way, God nourishes and
cares for His people, both physically and spiritually so that we may praise Him. Am
I worthy of His care? Have I done enough? Paul reminds us in Philippians, that we
should strive towards righteousness but know that it is through the righteousness of
Christ and his sacrifice that we are saved.
Because God is merciful, we are not condemned for our sins.